H.S. FOOTBALL: Scituate defense shuts out Hanover, 20-0

Nick Frazier The Patriot Ledger nikfraz14

Friday

Oct 5, 2018 at 10:39 PMOct 6, 2018 at 8:01 AM

The Sailors force two turnovers and now lead the Patriot League Fisher Division.

HANOVER -- Scituate running back Wil Sheskey ran for two scores and quarterback Aidan Sullivan ran for another as the Sailors defeated Hanover, 20-0, in high school football action at Harry Gerrish Memorial Field on Friday.

With the win, the Sailors (4-1, 3-0) take sole possession of first place in the Patriot League Fisher Division. Scituate coach Herb Devine was proud of his defense, which has shut out opponents in two straight games.

“They take pride in playing defense and it shows,” Devine said. “The guys are really coming along, Coach Mike Aveni does an outstanding job with our defense. When the offense isn’t clicking like tonight, to have a defense that can step up, that’s what wins football games.”

The game started off slowly, with no first downs in the first four possessions of the game.

Scituate finally got on the board early in the second quarter, capping off an 11-play, 45-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run from Sullivan. The Sailors took a 7-0 lead with 10:50 left in the half.

Hanover quarterback Andrew Carroll and receiver James Byrne hooked up for a 52-yard pass on the next drive, but that series eventually fizzled out, as the Indians (4-1, 2-1) turned the ball over on downs. It was the only time the Indians got in the red zone.

Scituate got the ball in Hanover territory on its final drive of the second quarter, but Byrne intercepted Sullivan to end the half.

The Sailors struck again in the third quarter after Garret Morrison picked off Carroll in Scituate territory. Sheskey ran for 80 yards on the ensuing drive, and his 9-yard touchdown gave Scituate a 14-0 lead with seconds to go in the quarter.

Sheskey was relatively bottled up by the Hanover defense in the first half, but the junior came alive in the second after Scituate made some adjustments.

“They put five in the box and challenged us to run the ball, in the first half we weren’t doing a good job picking up their defensive ends,” Devine said. “If they’re going to put two safeties back and play man-to-man on us, we’re going to have to run the ball. Our kids did a great job adjusting, and Sheskey did a great job pounding the ball in the second half and putting away the game.”

Scituate’s James Tobin intercepted Carroll on the next drive, and Sheskey dove into the end zone from a yard out six plays later for a 20-0 lead with 7:50 to go.

The Sailors move on to play Pembroke next week, and a win at home will give the Sailors back-to-back Fisher Division titles. After the game, Devine huddled his players at the 40-yard line to remind his team of the ultimate goal.

“We always huddle up at the 40 after every game because our goal is to go 4-0 in our league, and we have an opportunity to do that next Friday night,” Devine said. “Hopefully we can get it done."